Online Sweepstakes: Tips to help you win more.
Are you a lucky winner or do you wish you were? You can increase your odds of winning by following these tips.
- Play games that are easier to win: How hard is it to win if there are only two tickets in the prize pool? Games with large prizes tend to be more competitive and the odds of winning are slimmer. There’s always a chance, but getting it right on the first try isn’t likely. Give yourself as many tries as possible by playing games like Lucky 7 where there’s one winner.
- Play every day: This might not seem obvious, but people who play daily have a better chance of winning than those who only play once in a while. Of course you don’t want to enter too many contests because that takes away money you could use for other things. But if you spend a few dollars on a few tickets, you’re bound to win something eventually.
- Don’t let yourself reach max entries: It’s easy to get carried away when entering contests and this is one of the most common mistakes people make. Once your ticket count is maxed out, you cannot enter any more contests. In order to avoid this pitfall, be sure to check back frequently and take advantage of any special offers.
- Find out about the maximum number of entries allowed: Many sweepstakes have a limit on the amount of times you can enter. Make sure you don’t go over or you risk disqualification.
- Change your e-mail address: This might seem like an obvious tip, but it’s actually to prevent yourself from entering more than once. If you notice that the e-mail is different and the rules state no duplicate entries, there’s a good chance that it is an attempt to circumvent this rule.
- Check your spelling: Don’t misspell anything because it will be automatically disqualified. There are usually a few other rules, but they aren’t all explicitly stated.
- Focus on cash prizes: This is not the place to spend your money. The more money you spend, the less chance you have of winning.
- Don’t forget to enter other contests as well: It’s easy to get caught up in entering sweepstakes, but take the time and enter other contests that might be more suited to your interests.
[/ARTICLE END] While I personally agree with most of these tips, I have a few qualms with them... First off, the idea that having only two entries in a pool makes it easier to win is simply false. In fact, there are quite a few sweepstakes that require 6 or 8 tickets and still don't offer much of a payout. I also don't buy the idea that people who play daily or multiple times a day have a significant advantage over those who only enter once. This not only applies to sweepstakes, but also to lotteries. I understand that people tend to forget about lotteries (or forget never to enter in the first place), but if you are going to purchase a lottery ticket, you should consider buying it on the same day each week. In fact, if you are going to spend money on playing a lottery but only play once per week, then by all means play; just don't expect this will net you more than one prize every 6 weeks (if that). Finally, I don't buy the idea that there are certain sweepstakes that require a specific number of entries, but I'll forever look at other sweepstakes on the same site and see that the rules do not mention this. Basically, I think most of these tips are useful in helping you accumulate more entries. But they shouldn't be followed blindly or you'll find yourself removing one of your entries here and there because your ticket is no longer valid. At the end of the day, it comes down to luck and whether or not you believe in it... Good luck! Please feel free to leave any questions/comments in the section below. [ARTICLE START]
Posted by Jeff R. at 5:19 PM
Thanks for the great ideas, but I disagree with you on one thing. I believe that you have to enter as often as possible to have any chance of winning on a lottery or sweepstakes game. I say this because people who don't play often tend to forget about the game/sweepstakes and either forget or never see the entry form again. Anyway, good luck with your entries! [ARTICLE END]
Posted by Jeff R. at 4:39 PM
A couple of questions... 1. Are there any other means of entry besides e-mail? I have a work e-mail address, but I can't seem to make that work with my home PC. 2. What if you win the grand prize but only want a couple of things from the prize package? Please feel free to respond to my comments in the section below. [ARTICLE START]
Posted by Jeff R. at 11:04 AM
I hope you can help me today with a question about winning sweepstakes. I've been entering online sweepstakes for several years now and have yet to win more than $100 in any one game, despite doing quite well most of the time (as many as 22 tickets in a day). The problem I seem to be having is that many of the prizes are valued at much more than $100 but I don't want to spend the money required in order to get the chance to win them. My question is this: How do you decide whether or not it's worth paying any amount of money in order to have a greater chance of winning a prize? Please feel free to respond to my comments in the section below. [ARTICLE END]
Posted by Jeff R. at 3:30 PM
Hi, thanks for your post on sweepstakes tips! I entered 2 contests on one site, with entries costing 0.10 each and got an overview screen showing that one entry was valid and one was not. I entered my second entry and this time I got confirmation that the first had been validated. I have a question: where can I check the status of all my entries? Thanks, Jeff [ARTICLE START]
Posted by Jeff R. at 10:35 AM
FACTUAL INFORMATION ABOUT LOTTERY WINNING The following is factual information about lottery winning. This information, which is derived from the "Official Rules" of The Pennsylvania Lottery's "Mega Millions" lottery game, was researched and discovered by myself in March, 2006 (almost a year after I purchased a Mega Millions ticket). As you can see, there are several statements made about the odds of winning that I find to be misleading or inaccurate. There is some mathematical certainty in knowing the odds of winning a lottery. For example, the probability (expressed as a decimal) is always less than 1.0 for all prizes, including small prizes and top prize drawings. The only exceptions are jackpots - the chance of winning them is given as 1.00 (a major flaw in this game's rules).
Conclusion: No one can win the jackpot "everything" in The Pennsylvania Lottery's Mega Millions game.
Statements made on The Pennsylvania Lottery's website regarding winning the jackpot:
- Winner has won the jackpot. This statement is true if and only if the player has won a prize while participating in any game of The Pennsylvania Lottery. "Winning" a prize simply means that a player has played and won a prize. It does NOT mean that they have also won Mega Millions - which has a different payout structure (Three, four or five prizes each draw: top prize is 4th prize amount, followed by 3rd prize amount for 2nd place, etc.).